The EPP group leader in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, is leading the CSU as the top candidate in next year’s European elections. At a delegate meeting on Saturday in Nuremberg, the CSU voted Weber first on the CSU list for the election in June next year with 96 percent. He received 240 out of 250 votes cast, ten delegates voted no.
Before his election, the 51-year-old had sharply attacked right-wing and populist, but also left-wing politicians. He particularly attacked the AfD. AfD right winger Björn Höcke said that this Europe must die, criticized Weber. He wants the CSU to oppose it with a loud voice and defend Europe. “We won’t let you neo-Nazis ruin it,” Weber said.
The CSU board unanimously recommended Weber for first place on the European list last week. Weber had already run as the top candidate in the 2019 European elections – at that time for the entire European People’s Party (EPP) and for the office of Commission President, which he did not get in the end. Since 2022, in addition to his position as group leader in the European Parliament, he has also held the EPP party chairmanship.
More candidates in promising places on the list
After top candidate Manfred Weber, the delegates also chose the other most promising CSU candidates for the European elections. The previous European MPs Angelika Niebler, Christian Doleschal, Monika Hohlmeier, Markus Ferber and newcomer Stefan Köhler were elected to places two to six on the list on Saturday. So far, the CSU is represented in the European Parliament by six parliamentarians. The agricultural expert Marlene Mortler is no longer running this time.
Angelika Niebler, who has been a member of the EU Parliament since 1999, was nominated with almost 97 percent of the vote. Doleschal in third place received almost 91 percent of the votes, Hohlmeier in fourth place received around 94 percent of the votes. Markus Ferber has been there the longest: The 58-year-old has been an EU MP since 1994 and is in fifth place on the list this time. He received 93 percent of the valid votes in Nuremberg. New on the list, in sixth place, is Stefan Köhler from Lower Franconia. The farmer was elected with almost 94 percent of the votes cast.
Before the election, CSU leader Markus Söder thanked the previous MEPs and asked his own party to show more appreciation for their work. “To be honest, it’s totally impressive what our brave troops – there’s no other way to put it, almost like a Gallic village surrounded by the others – always manage to prevent, do differently and improve,” said Söder.